Pumped Storage Hydropower (PSH) Wind and Solar Integration and System Reliability Initiative

Federal Agency

Sub-Department

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)

Purpose

To provide financial assistance to eligible entities to carry out project design, transmission studies, power market assessments, and permitting for a pumped storage hydropower project to facilitate the long-duration storage of intermittent renewable electricity.

Applicant and/or Project Eligibility Requirements

Eligible entities include electric utilities (investor-owned, municipally-owned, and cooperatives), State Energy Offices, Tribes, institutes of higher education, or consortium thereof.

Decarbonization Considerations

Pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) is a long-duration storage option that can help integrate intermittent renewable energy sources and currently accounts for 95% of utility-scale storage in the United States. This demonstration project focuses on wind and solar integration. Projects which can be scaled to other wind and solar projects or demonstrate lower energy consumption and reduce environmental impacts may improve decarbonization outcomes.

Equity Considerations

One project eligibility criteria is that the project must be able to store electricity generated by renewable electricity projects on Tribal land. Applicants who are not Tribal entities should closely coordinate with Tribal partners and ensure Tribal voices are included throughout the project design process.

Helpful Tips

N/A

Other Notes

To be eligible for financial assistance, a project shall—(i) be designed to provide not less than 1,000 megawatts of storage capacity;(ii) be able to provide energy and capacity for use in more than 1 organized electricity market;(iii) be able to store electricity generated by intermittent renewable electricity projects located on Tribal land; and (iv) have received a preliminary permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.